


I

by BlueEyedVirgo



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Love, Mentions of Rape, Physical Abuse, Sickfic, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 14:16:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13168677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueEyedVirgo/pseuds/BlueEyedVirgo
Summary: "Are you okay?""No."She falls.He runs to her.





	1. Chapter 1

Billy woke up on the floor of a random place. It isn’t the first time and it sure won’t be the last time. He looks around and sees the scattered papers.

 _I said, do you understand!_ The bat swings down.

Billy cringes and turns himself inward. The memory of Max and the bat comes first. The feeling of the needle entering his neck second. The numbing feeling taking over his neck and then going down. It all came back at once. “Little bi- “ He feels the emptiness in his front pocket. His keys. He mutters a small curse under his breath and slowly gets up.

Billy’s head spins violently as he comes to a full stand. He looks out the window to see his Camaro gone. No trace or anything. Billy mutters a few unpleasant words and heads off towards the door. I can hitchhike if anything, Billy thinks. He’s done it before.

Before they moved here. He was out with a girl and he missed curfew. He headed home and saw everyone was gone. His baby was even gone. Probably his dad drove it. On the door though there was a note saying:

_If you’re a part of this family, you’ll find a way to the hotel or you’ll never get your car back you little f…_

Billy didn’t even have to read the last word to know what it said. His father had called him that a million in one times, still does too, and Billy knew exactly what the note said. Billy opens the door and the cold air hits him. He begins to walk and starts walking off of the way he came.

 

When he makes it to the main road he knows that he’s going to have to walk a little way before he can catch a ride. He walks and walks and walks for hours. He should’ve known nobody would be out at this hour. He looks at his watch every once in a while. I VI. Already 1:30 in the morning. He walks for another twenty minutes before he makes it to his house. His blue Camaro is in the drive. He sees the small red head standing next to the car alone.

Billy’s blood runs cold. He isn’t afraid, but he sees the look on her face. She’s scared. When he gets closer she looks up. They make eye contact and he stands still.

“Why aren’t you inside?” Billy asks as he looks at the still lit house. He doesn’t want to walk in just yet. He knows what would happen if he walks in and Max still hasn’t come inside just yet.

“I already went in. I just wanted to talk to you really quick before you walked in.” She shifts her body. She raises herself off of the Camaro and walks a few feet ahead. Ten feet away from each other. “I got here an hour ago. I told them what I want them to know and you have no clue what happened. I made up a story and I need you to follow it because I know that when you get in there and they ask you, you’ll be in trouble if it doesn’t sound just how you found me.

Tonight, I was at the arcade and I didn’t tell you. I started skating home and I ran into someone. They took my board and started bothering me. You showed up just in time and you beat them up. You told me to get out of there as fast as possible and to tell my mom that you’d be done in a few minutes. Instead when I got in your car the guy knocked you out. I drove away quickly and came home. Told them not to call the cops because I know how much trouble you got in a couple days ago. Dad bought you out I know that. Am I clear on this?”

Billy cringes at the word dad the word hurts his ears more than anything. “Don’t call him dad,” Billy says as he looks at the ground.

“Do I make myself clear?”  
Do I make myself clear!  
Yes, Sir.   
“Yes.”

She watches him pick his head up and walk to the door. Max follows him and they walk into the house. Billy make a b-line to his bedroom before Susan or his dad can say anything. Max stops in the living room and sits down next to her mom.

Billy shuts his door and goes to his bed. He lays down, face-down. There’s a knock on his door. He doesn’t answer.

“Billy?” Susan asks through the door. “Can I come in?”

Billy groans. Can this woman leave him alone? He somewhat found her daughter what else does she want? _Treat Susan with respect._ “Yes Susan.” He hears the door open.

Susan doesn’t walk in far, but she closes the door behind her. Billy keeps his face down. “Billy, I know that we don’t have the best relationship and all, but I do want to tell you thank you for Maxine. I know you haven’t been around us for most of your life due to you living with your mother…” Billy feels his heart stop. He hasn’t talked about his mom in a long time and Neil wasn’t going to bring her up. “I want you to know that I actually do care for you as if you were my son. I know I’m not Kelly, but I want you to know that I would never mind you to come to me.” Susan has always wanted Billy to come to her. That’s all she’s ever wanted from him. “I, uh, I know that you’re not really the type, but can…can I give you a hug?”

Billy, this time, looks up at Susan. They make eye contact. Max looks so much like her. He knows that his dad would never hit Max or Susan. They’re obedient little dogs. They’d do anything for Neil. Billy wouldn’t that’s why he’s the one to pay. He’s learned from a long time ago no matter how much you kiss his ass he’ll bight you in yours five times harder.

He looks down at his lap, “Susan, I don’t want to be rude, but I’m not ready to be that close yet. I know that’s shitty of me to say, but Susan I’m not ready for that.”

Susan looks at him and smiles. That’s the most he’s talked to her ever. They only talk when he has to apologize to her. Talking is better than a hug. “Okay, it’s fine. I promise.” It falls quiet for a second. It’s awkward. Then Susan speaks up, “Uh, I came in here to give you your mail also. You have a few things from the school and a few colleges and a letter from Tyler.”

Tyler. Billy looks at her. “Thanks Susan,” he says taking the mail from her hands. He shuffles the envelopes until he sees the beautiful handwriting. _Billy Hargrove_. Billy flips it over and smiles.

He’s so close to opening it. Susan speaks up, “I’m sorry you had to cancel your date.” Billy stops. What date? Oh yeah, the one he had to cancel so he could go find Max.

“It’s fine. Thanks Susan.” Susan takes that as a ‘get out.’ When Susan leaves he opens up the letter and grabs the folded paper out of it. He smells the letter and the scent of coconut oil enters his nose. _Tyler_. He misses that smell.

_To My Darling Asshole Billy,_


	2. Chapter 2

Billy read the letter over and over again. It was just fourteen words. _Call me, this is super important. Call me as soon as you get this. ***-***-****._ That was it. He had to call her, but the area code looks weird. It isn’t the same one from California. It looks like his area code. It couldn’t be, she’s home. Back home with everyone else.

Billy gets up from his bed and walks to the door. _What the hell am I doing? I can’t do a phone call this early. Dad will have a cow_. Billy stands at his door for another moment. _I can get up at seven and call her. That’ll be the easiest way to do this. She’ll understand._ Billy walks back to his bed and lays down. Just a few hours. It’ll be okay.

Billy doesn't wake up at the time he thought he would. He ends up sleeping till twelve. The house is quiet. Why’s it so quiet? Billy gets up and walks to his door. It’s never this quiet. Then his eyes catch it. The small note on his mirror.

_Gone out, there are pancakes on the counter._

_-Susan_

Billy looks at it for a few more seconds then he leaves his room. Before anything he goes to check to see if Max is here. When he notices her door is open and no one is in there he sees he’s alone. He hurries back to his room and grabs the letter. He hurries back to the phone and starts to dial the number.

His heart starts to beat after the first ring. Billy knows something is up. She gave him a number that wasn’t the hospital in California. He hasn’t talked to Tyler on the phone since he left. His thoughts overtake the ringing noise from the phone.

“Hello?” a raspy feminine voice asks.

“Ty?” Billy says. “Tile, it’s me.”

“Billy? Oh my goodness, Billy. You got my letter.”

“Yeah, Ty. I did.”

“I didn’t think you’d get this. I thought your dad would’ve found the letter and took it away.”

“Babe, Susan got the mail before he did.”

There’s a pause. Billy can hear her breathing. It’s not good. He remembers listening to her breathing and it never sounded like this. Its never this bad when he was around her.

“Good, I didn’t feel like tracking you down manually.”

“What?”

“Billy, I’m here.”

“What?”

“I got transferred here. I’m in Hawkins.”

Tyler can feel Billy’s face through the phone. She feels his smile go up. She hasn’t seen it in a long time, but she needs to see it. Tyler needs to see it.

“You better not be messing with me.”

“I’m not. In ten minutes I want you to meet me at the park downtown. I’ll be wearing red.”

The line ends. Billy looks at it. ten minutes. This better not be a joke. He goes to his room and changes his shirt to a green t-shirt and a fresh pair of pants. After he changes and slips on his boots he grabs his jean jacket and heads out to his car.

It isn’t the longest drive to downtown. Maybe five minutes. He pulls over and gets out of his car. He walks up a small hill and looks around. He looks for anything red. Then he spots it. A red long sleeved shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

“Ty!” Billy yells and starts to descend down the small hill. The person in red turns around. It’s a girl. It can’t be Tyler though. It can’t be. This girl is a skeleton.

“William!” She was the only one who called him William. That’s how he told her a part from everyone else in a crowd. Billy smiles as the girl runs towards him. As she gets closer he sees it. Her beautiful blue eyes and dark brown hair. Yes, there are a lot of dark haired and blue eyed girls, but this one has a birthmark on her eye. He picks her up as she jumps in his arms. She’s lighter than the last time he saw her. She’s tiny.

“How do I know that you are my Tyler?” He asks as he sets her down.

“You pissed the bed until you were nine, you were breastfed until four, oh and while going through the change you loved to ja...”

“Dammit it is you.”

“I told you.”

When he looks at her he notices the ulcers in the corner of her mouth. He also notices how low her eyes have sunken in. Bags eating their ways up them.

“You been eating?”

“Yes Billy, I have.”

“Doesn’t feel like it.”

“Well Darling, I want you to know that I was planning on taking you to a nice diner and eating the biggest, juiciest hamburger they have. But I guess you want to criticize my eating habits.”

“I’m not criticizing your eating habits.”

“Great way of kissing my ass after that.”

Billy looks at her. He hasn’t had his match in a long time. She’s the only one who could take anything away and twist it. He knows she’s literally him.

“I’m joking Billy; now did you bring my beauty?”

“Yeah, you really think I’d walk here?”

“Give me the keys. I’m driving.”

Billy smirks and hands her the keys from his front pocket.

 

Billy looks at her and stares in awe. She devours her sandwich. He notices her hands are smaller than before. She’s so small. They need to talk, but he knows he has to be careful.

“So, Babe, you got transferred?”

“Yep.”

“Babe, how are the uh, treatments?”

“The usual.”

“You look worse than you did in Cali.”

It gets quiet. Tyler looks up from her hamburger. She looks tired. “Billy, I know what I look like. I know that. I know I look like shit; I feel like shit. Now I want to eat this hamburger and talk to you and catch up. I want you to spend time with me and then I want you to take me home and we watch a movie or something, okay? This is going to be a day without questions.”

Billy looks down at his sandwich there goes the thought of being careful. “I’m just worried.”

“Don’t be Billy, I’m fine.”

“Okay.” He takes a bite of his sandwich.

 

The two of them walk into Tyler’s house. It’s dark. Her mom isn’t home yet. They walk into the living room and take off their shoes. The TV is still on. It’s on a random game show. Tyler’s mom likes game shows. The girl walks to the kitchen and grabs a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“Do you remember the first time you came over and we had an entire bottle of wine?” She asks opening the bottle and pouring a somewhat equal amount of wine in to each one of the glasses.

“Yeah and then the next day the hangover was the worst.” Billy laughs. He remembered that day like it was yesterday. They were twelve and her mom was out doing whatever she does for work. They drank and talked all night. They had a long talk about their futures. Billy would go on to be a professional basketball player and Tyler would be an actress. She’d always wanted to be one.

Billy looks at the glasses and takes one in his hand. He hasn’t had wine in so long. She grabs the bottle and her glass and leaves the kitchen. Billy follows her and notices she’s walking up the stairs. He follows and they make it to the bathroom. There’s a built in tub with the ugliest pattern ever. The girl puts the stopper in. Then she turns on the faucet. The bath tub water starts to steam.

“Billy do you remember the last time we took a bath together?”

“When we were nine. Right before _it_ happened.”

“Yeah.”

The two of them stand by the tub. They wait for the tub to be filled. Tyler turns the faucet off and gets in. Her clothes still on. Billy looks at her.

“You going to get in or what?”

Billy looks at her and gets in. They sit in the water facing each other. Tyler takes a sip of her wine. Billy looks at his glass and takes a sip also. The two of them look at each other for a long time. They sit in the bath until they prune and the water feels like ice and then they're out of wine.

“William James,” Tyler starts. “I love you.”

“I love you too Tyler Anne.”

“It’s tomorrow.”

“What?”

“It’s twelve. You can ask anything now.”

Billy looks up at the clock on the wall of the bathroom. Midnight. He’s not going home he guesses. His dad would kill him if he walked in. He knows that he can ask millions of questions to get to what he really wants to know but he wants to know now. He needs to know now.

“How long?”


	3. Chapter 3

They look like they're eight again. Tyler’s mom finds them in Tyler's room lying next to each other. Billy changed into a pair of basketball shorts that he gave Tyler a few months ago before he left. She sees Tyler in an old sweater he gave her when they were twelve. She 's too small for it now, but it doesn't stop her from wearing it.

Tyler’s mom walks out of the room and heads to the bathroom. An empty bottle and their soaked clothes on the floor. He’ll need clothes when he leaves. _If_ he leaves. She picks up the clothes and heads downstairs to the basement to put all of the clothes in the wash. She might as well call Billy’s folks. They have their number.

“Susan?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“Hey, Susan, I don’t think you remember me but it’s a Joan, Tyler’s mom.”

“Joan Smith? Of course I remember you. Billy was always over there.”

“Well, I doubt he told you that he was coming over here, so I wanted to call and tell you he’s at our house.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll tell Neil. How did he take the news?”

“Not sure. I’ll find out in the morning I guess. Thanks for keeping the letter.”

“I had to. He’s been acting crazy since we left.”

Joan can hear Neil in the background. He’s getting anxious. “I’ll let you go dear. Be safe.”

“I will. Goodnight.”

The line goes out and Joan sends a silent prayer to The Lord God Almighty for that poor woman and her daughter. She crosses herself and heads back upstairs to the living room to finish her game shows.  

 

The next morning Billy wakes up to an empty bed. He knows where to go. He follows the sound of the crying and heaving. He enters the bathroom to see Tyler over the toilet. He goes over and grabs her hair.

“It’s alright,” he says rubbing her back. “It’s okay.” But Billy spoke way too soon. He looks in the toilet seeing red.

Joan walks into the bathroom with a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water. Billy looks at the woman. Glitter still covering her face and hair. He stares at the woman. She still looks like she’s in her twenties. The Smiths have great genes in their family.

“Ms. Smith,” Billy says.

“Your clothes are in the bedroom. Go get dressed I’ll take it from here.”

Billy doesn’t argue and he heads back to her bedroom. His clothes from yesterday are washed and ready just like Joan said. He quickly slips off his shorts and puts on his underwear and then his jeans. Finally, his shirt. He doesn’t put his jacket on.

“Billy,” Joan says walking in the room. “There’s coffee downstairs. She’s taking a bath.” Joan has always treated him as her son. She cares about him. Billy nods and they leave the room and head downstairs.

They walk in to the kitchen and grab the cups. It’s quiet as they both stand and drink the coffee. Joan is the first one to speak.

“She’ll be starting school tomorrow.”

Billy looks at her and puts the mug on the counter. He knows this already. The talk Tyler and he had lasted until two in the morning. They talked about school mostly. She asked what it was like at school, who there was to be around, and what his classes were. She had her schedule and she let him look over it. They had two classes together. They had literature and lunch together which were back to back. Other than that, they wouldn’t see each other.

“Yeah, she told me. I, uh, I have basketball practice after school on Mondays and Thursdays and it’s about two or so hours long. She can stay with me and then I’ll bring her home. If that’s okay with you.”

 Joan nods. She's okay with Billy, she trusts him. She knew he wouldn’t do anything to her. He knew what was wrong with her. And Joan really doubts he'll want to put himself through the pain that he sees Tyler go through. “Thank you, Billy.”

“You’re welcome ma’am.” Billy says. It goes quiet again. If you listen closely you can hear the water upstairs in the bathtub. Billy looks at the clock. _Ten_. Billy cursed under his breath. He had a date. He was supposed to take some tramp to lunch. Well, he can’t go home and get ready. Plus, he promised, buzzed, if we may add in, that Tyler and him would go shopping. He looks at his coffee and takes another sip.

 

Monday morning. Billy pulls up in the parking lot with Max. Max gets out and starts to skate off to the middle school. He sits there and waits a few minutes before he gets out. He walks towards the building and heads for his first class. He goes through all of first, second, and third period. Literature is fourth and he can’t wait to get there to see Tyler.

When he walks in he went to his usual seat in the back. Everyone starts coming in. He watches and then Tyler walks in. The teacher looks at her and nods looking at her schedule. She scans the room and catches Billy’s eyes. She walks towards the back and sits down in the empty desk next to him. Billy looks over at her. She’s in a white shirt and blue jeans. She glows in the sunlight. He looks at her lips and notices the makeup that hides her bumps. It feels like the class takes only ten minutes when, in reality, it was fifty-four minutes. Billy forgot what it was like to have his best friend in the whole world next to him in his classes.

Billy and Tyler walk out to Billy’s car to eat. They spend that time talking. Billy asking how she’s feeling. Tyler telling him she feels fine and that all is okay. He tells her to meet him here so they can go to the gym together. Lunch flies by and they part ways. Two classes to go.

Tyler goes on to her math and science classes. She knows no one. She notices that guys were staring at her all class period. She knew that they were staring at her butt too. That’s what they usually did. In California, Billy and Tyler were known for having butts. They worked out together a lot. That’s how they kept their minds off of things. Once the final bell rings, Tyler hurries to Billy’s Camaro. She gets there first and many people stare at her. Mostly girls. They all stare at her like she’s a bug. It doesn’t bother Tyler though.

Back in California, Tyler knew how every girl obsessed over Billy, and they hated Tyler. After a while, the girls realized the two were just friends. It’ll take these girls a long time also. Out of nowhere, Billy comes up and he grabs her hand. She follows him to the gym. This caused girls and now guys to pay attention to her now. Tyler’s face starts to turn red.

They enter the gym and see some guys already warming up. One of them Steve Harrington. Billy leads her to the bleachers. “I have to change. I’ll be out in a minute.” Tyler nods and sits down and pulls out her trapper keeper.

Right when she pulls out a pencil, someone comes up to her. She looks up and sees a brunette with crazy hair and a bruised face. _Billy Hargrove._ She knows Billy’s work. She remembered the time that she talked to another guy and he got pissed. He beat his face in.

“Are you being held against your will?” The brunette asks looking at her. “You can run if you need to he takes a long time to get ready.”

“What did you do to make Billy mad?”

“What?”

“You’re face. How the hell did you piss him off? The last time he beat someone as hard as I’m guessing he beat you was months ago and he almost got arrested.”

“I…”

“Harrington! I’d step away from her right now if you know what’s best.”

Tyler looks up and sees Billy shirtless and in a pair of green shorts. Most girls would be swooning, but she’s used to this. He sleeps like this when he comes over.

“Hargrove, I’m pretty sure that this girl can speak for herself.”

“I’d step away,” Tyler says. She doesn’t make eye contact. She looks at Billy. “I’m not into brunettes.” It’s a lie. She finds brunettes highly attractive.

“See Hargrove,” Billy says, “Now how about you get down and finish your stretching before I bust that lip a little bit more.”

Steve flinches slightly. Billy knows how that feels, yet he can’t give that emotion to the public. He’s not like that. He can’t show emotion. Billy looks at Tyler. Tyler looks at him. His beautiful long eyelashes fall onto the top of his cheekbones. He looks mad. Not at 'Hargrove', but at the fact that he acts just like him.

“You’re not like him,” she whispers as a whistle blows. The two jump and Billy’s cocky attitude comes out. Billy’s demonic side comes out and all hell breaks loose.

 

Practice lasts only an hour. Billy runs to the locker room and then runs back out. He’s going to shower at Tyler’s. He knows he’ll be over there for a bit. Her mom won’t be home for another six or so hours. When he makes it to his car, with Tyler in tow, he sees Max. He looks at her and sighs.

“Why’d you wait?” Billy asks opening his door. Tyler looks at the small redhead and the small redhead looks at her. Max never met Tyler, she’s heard stories, but has never met her in real life.

“Someone broke my board and mom and dad are out of town for the rest of the week.” Max says looking at him.

Tyler watches Billy flinch at the word _dad_. Billy looks at the small girl and then back at Tyler. Tyler looks at the ground.

“They’re out of town,” Billy asks. He hasn’t been home in the past couple of days. He didn’t want to go home so he stayed in his car or rented a motel room. Max nods. Billy sighs. “Ty, you wanna come over for a little while?” He looks over at Tyler and she nods.

“Ty?” Max says raising an eyebrow.

“Tyler,” Tyler speaks up, “I’m guessing you’re the famous Max?” Billy talked so much about her a lot during their night. He talked about how this small ginger almost took his dick off with a bat. He talked about how he admired her spirit. No matter what he did to her, she always fought back against him.

“Alright,” Billy sighs. He rubs a hand over his face. “Max, in the back. Tyler front.” The two girls nod, and they get in the car. Max sits quietly listening to Tyler and Billy talk.

“You can stay if you want. I know your mom won’t be home for a long time.” Billy says looking at the road.

“Max,” Tyler says turning around to look at her. Max looks at her. “Is it okay if I stay over?”

“Don…” Billy starts.

“Shut up William,” Tyler says, “I’m asking her too. It’s her home too.” To Max’s surprise Billy does shut up. Tyler looks at her waiting for a response.

“Yeah.”

“All right, Billy I’ll stay.”

Billy doesn’t reply and they go on to the Hargrove-Mayfield Home.

 

The house is quiet. Max was right. They were gone. Max goes on to her bedroom.  Billy looks at her. “I’m going to shower. You can uh, go to my room or stay here, or you can sit in there and talk to me.”

“I’ll find something.”

“My room is down and to the last door on the left.”

“Okay.”

Billy nods and then heads off to the bathroom. The door closes behind him and she listens for the faucet to turn on. Maybe she can go out and smoke. Tyler hears a door open and turns around. Billy can’t take a shower that fast. She looks and sees Max.

“Uh,” Max says. “Where’s Billy?”

“In the shower.”

“Oh, okay.”

“What do you need?”

“Uh, I need to uh, get something in there.”

“Do you want me to get it for you?”

“Uh…”

“Where?”

“Under the sink.”

“Okay.”

Tyler walks to the bathroom and walks in. Billy pulls the curtain slightly just to see who's there. He closes it back and continues his shower. Tyler quietly opens the cupboard and looks inside. The only thing under there is a package. She grabs the package and grabs two of the items in it. She stuffs them in her pocket.

“What do you need?”

“Had to piss,” Tyler says and flushes to the toilet. She runs the water to the sink and washes her hands quickly before leaving. She looks at Max and hands the pads to her. Max’s face is red.

“Thank you.” She says and runs off to her room.

 

For dinner, Billy orders a pizza for the three of them. He didn’t feel like cooking. The three of them sat at the table in silence. Of course, Max speaks up. “So, how do you two know each other?”

“Tyler, you remember better than I do.” Billy says looking at Tyler.

“Well,” Tyler says swallowing the bite she took. “If you decide to remember shit butt in will ya? We first met in third grade. He was sitting alone and I so happened came across him. I asked him why he was sitting alone. He replied with a ‘I don’t have anyone to sit with.’”

“Whoa,” Billy says interrupting, “I did…”

“Didn’t have anyone to sit with. I offered to sit with him and he said no at first. When I asked why…”

“I said it was because girls weren’t strong enough and you…”

“I punched him in the nose. We got sent to the principal’s office. That’s when I knew he’d be a great friend.”

Max looks at Billy, “She punched you in the nose?”

“I actually broke it,” Tyler says. “See how his right side of his nose is slightly bigger.”

“Yeah, I get more air on that side,” Billy mutters. Max smiles and gives a small laugh.

“We’ve been best friends since then.”

Max nods and continues to eat her pizza.


	4. Chapter 4

Days turn into weeks and weeks turn into a month. Tyler has been at school for a month and everyone knows not to mess with her. Billy’s little friends still glare, but at least they don’t say anything. Everything has been going great, but today is the day that it’ll go to hell.

Tyler knows as soon as she wakes up that today is already going to be a long day. She dreads to tell Billy that she’s going into the hospital soon. She’s going through another blood transfusion. The doctors are trying to flush the bad blood out again.

Tyler puts on a pair of pants and grabs her belt. She’s lost another three pounds. Her belt is on the last notch now. She’ll have to make new notches when she gets home. She slips on a shirt she took from Billy a few weeks ago. The baggy shirt makes her seem at least the same size Billy is use to. The Camaro pulls up in front of the house. Tyler hurries and grabs her bag. She leaves her room and runs out to the car.

 

Tyler goes through first, second, third, and fourth period waiting for lunch. Her mom is coming to get her. Joan told all of her teachers about what was happening and they gave her all of her assignments. She walks out to the Camaro and sits next to Billy. He watches a blonde girl walk past them.

“Billy,” Tyler starts. Now is better than later. “I need to tell you something.” She shifts and looks at her lap.

“What?”

“I’m, I’m not going to be in the hospital for a few weeks.”

“What?” He says looking at her. “Why?”

“They’re going to try to do that transfusion thing again.”

“But, that failed…”

“I know, but remember, I felt better a little bit.”

“But why go through something that doesn’t help?”

“I can ask you the same thing about your choice in ‘friends’.”

Billy looks at her. Tyler looks up and she sees his face. He looks slightly shocked that she would bring that up. He doesn’t say anything and then he looks at the ground.

“Billy, I’m sorry, but I have to. It’s not my choice.”

“I know but it’s not going to work.” Billy looks back up but he looks forward. “How long will you be gone?”

“Two weeks, you’re allowed to visit.” Tyler says. “I mean you might not find it the most attractive thing in the whole world, but you can come and see me.”

“You’ve thrown up on me before.”

“You’ve thrown up on me too.”

“When?”

“That one time we went to a New Year’s Eve party.”

“I do not remember that.”

“Yeah, because you were wasted.”

Billy looks at his lap. This is going to be a long ass week.

“Billy, I gotta go, my mom is going to be here soon. I’ll see you around.” Tyler says looking at the sky. She never says goodbye. There is no goodbye until you're dead.

“I’ll see you around,” Billy says looking up and at her for the last time. They don’t make eye contact as she gets up and leaves.

“I love you William James.”

“I love you too Tyler Anne.”

 

What was supposed to be a couple of weeks turned into a month. Billy puts on a blue shirt and blue jeans. He’s going to spend the evening with Tyler. He leaves his room and starts walking for the front door. He stops at the bathroom hearing Max grumble about something. He looks and sees the small ginger in a dress and Susan pinning her hair. Max looks up and glares at him. She expects him to say something snarky. He’s been an asshole ever since Tyler went away. Max watches him look away and walk off.

Billy opens the front door and walks out. He sits in his Camaro for a few minutes before he starts it and drives off. Susan said that she wanted to take her to the dance and let Billy do whatever he wanted. He wishes he could’ve taken her, because he knows somehow, it’ll be his fault Susan took her. Some way, some how it’ll be his fault. He drives on to the hospital.

It only takes twenty minutes to get there. He parks and gets out. He buttons the rest of his shirt up and starts for the entrance.

 

“So, does she look pretty?” Tyler says looking at Billy. She’s pale and her ulcers have gotten bigger. The poor girl looks like she’s close to death.

“Yeah,” Billy says looking at the IV in her arm and the other wires hooked into her. “She does.”

“Billy, I’m okay.” Tyler says. She knows he's nervous. Her voice cracks slightly.

Billy looks up at her. He’s already talked to the doctor. The doctor gave him the rundown. It’s not the best Christmas gift he could’ve asked for.

“No, you’re not.” Billy says looking at her. “You’re not okay.”

The girl looks at him. She knows the doctor told him. “Billy…”

“Shut up.”

“What?”

“I said shut up. I’m sick of hearing you say ‘I’m fine’, ‘It’s okay’, or my favorite ‘It’s just a spell’. No, you knew this whole time how bad you were but you’ve lied. You are a fucking liar. I can’t believe that you’ve been keeping all of this shit in. It’s been a month and you couldn’t have bothered to say ‘Oh, yeah, I have one more month to live’ or ‘oh I have two weeks to live’. I’ve told you so much stuff and you can’t bother to tell me the truth.”

“Billy, listen to…”

“You’re a selfish bitch you know that? You are a selfish little bi…”

“Billy, listen to me! Listen!” Tyler yells. He stops and looks at her. Tears roll down her face. Billy’s face falls slightly. “Do you really think I wanted to tell you that! Huh? I’ve been in a hospital bed for the past month. I’ve waited patiently. Do you really think I wanted to tell you and then you sit here and cry and we waste the rest of my time crying? Hell no! I wanted to let it go.”

“Can you not hear how selfish you sound?”

“Billy, I’m not selfish.”

“Yes, you are. You’re telling me that I’d have to sit here and be happy while you leave me? You’re a hypocrite too you know!”

“Billy…”

“You’re such a…”

“William James Hargrove, you don’t get it do you!”

“Get what? What is there to get besides your selfishness?”

“I’m ready to say goodbye.”

“What?” Billy's voice cracks. He's cold.

“William, I’m ready to die. I want to die. It hurts so much. I just want to get this life over with. It hurts Billy. It hurts so much.”

Billy freezes, “Ty…”

“Billy, you just don’t get it do you? You don’t understand that I’m ready. I’ve been living with this for eight years now. I’ve been suffering for eight fucking years. I’ve lived with this burden this long. I’m in pain. I’m in hell. You know what happened. You found me.”

Billy looks at his hands. The memory of finding her in a ball on the floor of that ugly rundown apartment flashes his mind. 

“Billy, wouldn’t you be ready to go?”

“How can you be done?”

“Now who sounds selfish? You know what, just leave.”

“Tyler…”

“William, leave.”

Billy looks at her. She’s not crying anymore.

“See you...” Billy says looking at the ground.

“Goodbye Billy.”

Billy looks at her. She doesn't meet his stare. He gets up from his chair and walks out of the room. After the door closes he sighs. Tears filling his eyes already. He gets halfway down the hallway before he leans onto the closest wall. He slides down feeling his tears roll down his cheeks.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Possible Triggers in chapter.

Billy goes straight home. He walks in to the house and goes straight to his father, who's sitting on the couch alone. He looks him in the eye. Neil hates the fact that Billy looks just like his first wife. Same blue eyes and curly blonde hair.

“I hate you.” Billy says looking at him.

“Son, does it look like I care how you feel towards me?” Neil says flipping the page of his book.

“You took me away from her. I could’ve been around her this whole time, but no. We had to move here.”

“If this is about Tyler I’m sorry to hear about it son, but we all knew it was going to happen someday.”

“You’re sorry?” Billy laughs. “You’re sorry?”

“Billy,” Neil says standing up. At this point Billy would be backing down, but this time Billy stands tall. That doesn’t last long though. Neil takes his son by the collar and goes from there. Neil doesn’t stop when his son starts to bleed.

“What have we talked about all this time!” Neil yells as he grabs Billy’s jaw.

“Respect and Responsibility,” Billy says swallowing. The taste of metal floods his mouth. "But why should I have it for someone like you.”

Neil blacks out at that moment and he doesn’t stop the enforcement of the punishment. He doesn’t remember undoing his belt or grabbing the lamp. Billy’s on the ground going in and out of consciousness. Before Billy can register another hit, he hears Susan screaming and Max is by his side. Blood covering a little bit of her jacket.

Susan persuades Neil to go to their room so she can calm him down. Max sits next to him. Billy looks at her. She feels his stare and looks at him.

“Max,” Billy says with a groan.

Max looks at him and smiles. It’s a smile of pity not friendship.

“I’m sorry.” He says before he passes out.

 

Billy was late for the sleepover. He was going to spend the night with her for the first time in a month. They were nine. He just got done with his dad. It was the first day Susan and Maxine came over for dinner. Long story short Billy dropped and broke a plate and Neil got mad and took his belt off.

Billy walked up the stairs to the apartment. No one lived on the top floor. He walked to the door and noticed it was cracked. It was never left cracked. He walked in and there she was. She was on the floor in a ball. Her underwear down around her ankles and her dress up. Billy ran over to her. She flinched when he pressed his hand against her head.

 _Please don’t touch me._ She whispers.

The boy looked at her and backed away slowly. She started to cry. That was the first time he saw her cry. He’d cried in front of her plenty of times. They were the opposite of the typical boy and girl. Boys strong and girls vulnerable.

They sat there for ages. Billy sat there listening to her sniffle and cry.  _Ty?_ Billy said after three hours of silence. _Can I touch you?_

Tyler hesitated for a second,  _Yes._

Billy turned around and gets on his knees. He looked at her. Her eyes were closed. He turned his body into a squatting position. His arms went under her head and under her knees. With his back, he picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. He sat her down on the toilet and turned on the faucet. When the tub was filled he looked at her.

_Can I take these off?_

Tyler nods her head and Billy finished undressing her and put her in the warm water.

She sat there with her eyes closed.

 _Tell me if you need me to stop,_ he said grabbing the soap and a rag. He watched her nod. He put enough soap on the rag and dipped the rag in the water really quick. He started with her back. He watched her stiffen and then relax to his touch. He washed her all over, except for her area, he let her do that. He got up from the floor and sat on the edge of the tub. Billy then washed her hair and finally let out the water.

Tyler’s eyes opened when the water was let out. He grabbed a towel and unfolded it _. Tyler, come on._ She stood up and looked at him. She was completely vulnerable. There was nothing covering her at all. He stood in awe at her body. His hormones making everything difficult. He could feel himself becoming uncomfortable. His pants slightly tight. He put that away though. He took the towel and wrapped her in it.

He helped her out of the tub and dried her off. He wrapped her in the towel again and picked her up. He took her to her room and sat her on the bed.

He then went to her dresser and pulled out a pair of underwear, a bra, a t-shirt, and a pair of pants. He quickly dressed her and lied her down.

He took all of the clothes to the laundry and came back to her. He took off his shoes and got on the bed with her. The girl lied with her back to him and her face to the wall.

 _Billy,_ she finally said.

_Yeah?_

_It hurts._

_Where?_

_Everywhere._

_What would you like me to do?_

_Talk to me._

_What do you want to talk about?_

_What do you want to be when you get older?_

_Well,_ Billy thought as he looked at the ceiling. _My dad wants me to be a doctor or whatever, but I personally want to be a basketball player. What about you?_

 

Billy wakes up on his bed. He looks around and sees Susan sitting at the end of it. He goes to move, but Susan stops him.

“Billy, you need to lay back.” She says.

Billy’s head is pounding and it hurts to breath. He’s probably cracked a rib.

“What happened?” Billy gasps. He tries to recollect any memory from tonight.

Susan looks at him. She looks nervous, “Billy, when’s your birthday?”

“October 23rd, 1967.”

“What’s your full name?”

“William James Hargrove.”

“How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

“Do you know what my name is?”

“Why’re there so many questions?”

“Billy answer the question.”

Billy looks at her. Her name on the tip of his tongue. Red hair. Old. _Say you’re sorry to…_ “Susan?”

“Yes. Okay, uh, I’ll be right back.”

Billy lies there for a moment. He waits a few seconds before Susan walks in with someone else and a small flashlight. He looks at the small redheaded girl.

“Billy,” Susan says looking at him, “do you know who this is?”

Billy looks at the small girl. Red hair and blue eyes. She looks like Susan. Billy hesitates trying to find a name in his head. His head pounds harder. “What does it start with?” He asks with his eyes closed. Max looks up at her mom.

“M,” Max says looking at him. He opens his eyes and they make eye contact.

“Ma,” Billy sounds it out. “Mad-no, Mac-no, Mel-no. Max?”

“Yes,” Susan says. “Good. Good. Now can you look at me while I check your pupils.”

Billy hesitates for a second, then nods. Susan looks at him and stops. “Can I touch you?” She asks. She waits and Billy nods. She gently grabs his chin and flashes the light over his eyes. It takes her a moment before she clicks the light off. Max is standing there silently. She recollects what happened when he passed out. The way Neil stormed out of the house and the way Billy seemed to stop breathing.

“You have a slight concussion.”

“Where’s my dad?” Billy asks.

“He went out to cool off.”

Billy nods and lies back down. Max watches his face scrunch up. “Shit,” Billy whispers suddenly. He looks frantically at Susan. “I messed up.”

“What?”

Billy runs a hand over his face. He flinches when he touches it though. “Tyler. I messed up with Tyler.”

 

Tyler goes home the next afternoon. It's unusually warm this afternoon. The doctors said they couldn’t do much more. There’s nothing they can do. They might as well just let her go out the way she wants.

When they pull up to the house they see the blue Camaro. Billy sits on the steps of the house and looks up when he hears the engine. Her mom turns the car off and Tyler opens the door and gets out first. Billy stands up now. He’s holding his hands in front of himself. He looks like he’s eight for that one moment.

“Billy, what the hell are you doing here?” Tyler asks.

Billy looks at her. His face is bruised and swollen. His lip is split and there’s a scar running from his temple to his jaw.  _Just tell her what she wants to hear_ Susan told him last night.  _Billy, she just wants you to treat her normal. It's common when they're close to going away._  

“Ty,” he says, “you were right. I was wrong about what I said last night. I’m sorry. So sorry for what I said to you.”

Tyler look sat him, “It’s okay, I understand now why you were upset with what I said.” 

 _You have to understand,_ Joan said lighting a cigarette.  _He's about to lose another person he loves. He already said goodbye before. He's still young. He's mature when he wants to be, but he's not as old as you are mentally._

“I thought about how you said about letting it all go, and there’s a party tonight. I was wondering if you’d want to go.”

Tyler looks at him, “What time?”

“Starts at six, so eight.”

“It turned six like twenty minutes ago.”

“I know. Get ready.”

Tyler hesitates for a moment.

“Tyler,” Joan says, “go. I have to work anyways.”

Tyler looks at her and then back at Billy. “Okay, but one condition.”

Billy looks at her, “What?”

“You have to wear a crop top.”

 

The two show up at the party around seven thirty. Tyler covered up her ulcers and covered up Billy’s face. They get out of his Camaro. Tyler in a pair of acid washed jeans and a blue shirt, while Billy’s in a pair of jeans and a jersey styled crop top. People stare at him but don’t say anything.

“Come on,” Billy says grabbing her hand and they walk into the house together. The two walk in and all eyes fall on Billy and her. You would believe that the girls would laugh or the guys would say something but this is Billy Hargrove. The girls love this more than they love his unbutton shirts. His toned stomach isn't hidden. They all stare in awe.

The two avoid the stares and walk to the kitchen. Billy grabs two cups and pours a little in both. He hands one two Tyler and she nods her thanks.

“Hargrove,” a voice says from behind them. The two turn around and look at the person. Three people are there. Tyler recognizes Harrington and a girl from her science class, Nancy? but there’s one more person with them. A boy with brown hair and a baby face. “Nice shirt. Did you accidentally shrink it?”

Tyler butts in knowing Billy would do something. “No, he lost a bet and like a real man he follows through on his loss.”

Nancy looks at her and so does Harrington and the other guy. Nancy double takes after looking at her. Tyler sits next to her in chemistry. They've only talked maybe once or twice. Nancy looks at the now skinnier girl. Tyler had a little bit more weight on her before and now looking at her it’s different. “Tyler,” Nancy says. “where have you been? And what’re you doing with Billy?”

“What is it Wheeler,” Billy asks. He’s already brought out his cocky side. Image. Image is important. “You wish you were her or something?”

“No, I don’t want to be like one of your little whores,” Nancy turns to Tyler, “I didn’t think that you’d be into this type of person.”

“Wheeler...”

“Billy, how about we g…”

“Not until she apologizes.” Billy says standing his ground.

“Billy, she didn’t mean it.” Tyler says turning to Nancy. Tyler’s breath hitches and she starts coughing. “Nan- _cough_ -cy, didn’t- _cough_ -me-an i- _cough-_ it.” Tyler starts to cough harder and stumbles slightly. Billy catches her.

“Ty,” he says. “Tyler, babe, look at me.” Tyler looks at him. “Babe, let’s go okay. Come on.”

“What’s wrong with her,” Nancy speaks up.

“Billy- _cough-_ I’m fine,” Tyler says. She’s gotten enough air in her lungs to function.

“Ty…” Billy starts.

“Billy, we talked about this.”

Billy stops and looks at her. He hesitates and nods. _I'm going to need you to shake on it_ Tyler said looking at him.  _State your full name too._ Billy looked at her and sighed  _I, William James Hargrove, promise to not baby or mention leaving at the tiniest sight of anything bad._ He looks at the three people in front of him. “Come on,” Billy says. “Let’s go outside. I think there’s a keg.”

Tyler nods and he grabs her hand and they head out back. Nancy, Steve, and Johnathan look at each other.

“I still don’t get her,” Steve says. “On her first day he brought her to practice and she asked what I did to Billy to make him beat my face in.”

“She’s in my chemistry class. She’s not exactly the most outgoing. Plus, I remember her being a tad bit bigger the last time I saw her.”

“What?”

“Does she not eat or something?”

“No, I’ve seen her eat at lunch that one day.”

“Well,” Johnathan says, “Maybe Billy’s found someone.”

“I give it another _week_ ,” Steve says and he takes a sip from his cup.


	6. Chapter 6

Billy brings, and by brings, Tyler drove them home because he was wasted, Tyler home with him that night. Neil and Susan said they were going out this weekend and would be back on Monday. The two walk in, well Billy is stumbling due to his recent win on the keg. Some guy beat his old record, so Billy had to teach him a listen.

Tyler takes Billy to his room and lays him down. She takes off his shoes and his jeans. She goes to his dresser and grabs a pair of underwear do to the fact he isn’t wearing any. He must’ve planned just in case she wasn’t going. She went over to him and slipped them on him. Tyler's done this before. The last time was when Billy got so drunk that he ended up pissing himself and when she took him home he was passed out and she had to change his clothes.

When she gets his underwear all the way up she hears the phone ring. She goes over to answer it. She used to do this all the time.

“Hargrove household.”

“Uh, who’s this?” It’s a girl’s voice. A small girl.

“Tyler, who’s this?”

“Oh, it’s Max. What’re you doing there?”

“I brought Billy home. He’s drunk. Where are you?”

“At a friend’s. I guess Billy forgot.”

“I can come and get you. What’s the address?”

Max doesn’t hesitate and tells her the address. Tyler grabs a nearby pen and starts scribbling the address down on her hand.

“I’ll be there in a bit.”

Tyler walks back to Billy’s room. She grabs a random piece of paper and scribbles down something just in case he wakes up.

 

Tyler arrives in twenty minutes. It’s nine. She walks up to the door and knocks on the door. A woman appears in a moment. She’s in a tight pair of jeans and a see-through white shirt. Must have expected Billy. She looks disappointed when she sees Tyler.

“I’m here for Max,” Tyler says.

“Last door on the left.”

Tyler looks at the woman and goes the way the woman told her to go. Tyler ends up in the basement. She walks down and sees four boys, a girl, and Max. The four boys and girl look at Tyler. Max stands up.

“Who are you,” a curly haired kid in a white, blue, and red baseball cap says.

Tyler looks at him and smirks, “Who’re you?”

“I asked you first.”

“I asked you second.”

“That’s Dustin,” a small boy with a bowl cut and the biggest brown eyes she’s ever seen says.

“Well, then,” Tyler says turning into her first-grade teacher self, “What’s your name?”

“What’s your name?”

“I asked you first.”

“And I asked second. So go ahead.”

Tyler looks at the small boy and smiles, “I’m a little too old for you is who I am.”

“Hey, Wil…” the boy from the party comes down the stairs with Nancy and Harrington. The three of them stop on the stairs and look at Tyler.

“What are you doing here,” Nancy speaks up. She’s drunk. You can tell by her slur.

“I’m here for Max.”

“So, you’re on babysitting duty for your boyfriend,” Harrington says.

Tyler hears two sighs in the background.

“Will!” The brunette says looking at the small boy Tyler was just talking with.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Tyler says.

“Oh, you sure?”

“Steve,” Max says looking at Harrington. “They’re not dating. She has way more respect for herself.”

“Then what is she?”

“Two things _Steve_ ,” Tyler says looking at him, “one look at me when you talk to or towards me and two I’m his friend. He’s my best friend if I may say.”

It’s quiet for a second.

“Come on Max,” Tyler says. “Billy’s asleep and I don’t need him to wake up and freak out.” Max nods and the two girls go up the stairs. They pass the three on the stairs and head off.

When they go upstairs they go straight to the Camaro and get in. When they’re in the car Max speaks up.

“Is Billy really your best friend?”

"Yep.”

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Depends. If it’s if I’m into girls or guys its guys.”

“No, I don’t want to offend you when I ask, but I want to know. Why did Billy come home yesterday saying he messed up? What’s wrong with you? Sorry if I offend you.”

“I’m not offended. I’m going to be honest because I doubt you’ll tell anyone what I’m about to tell you. When I was nine something bad happened to me. I was raped by my mom’s boyfriend. He, at the time, passed on something to me. He, he gave me this disease that no one has a cure for at the moment. It’s a disease that comes from sex or swapping bodily fluids such as blood or saliva. Whatever people say about what I have it's not contagious by touching or speaking to you.

About two years later I started losing weight. I went to the doctors and they ran different tests on me. Eventually the results came back and they weren’t good. I was diagnosed with AIDS when I was eleven. Now you ask me what Billy did wrong. He came to see me. The doctor told him the news I didn’t want Billy to know. He got on to me. He was calling me selfish and a hypocrite. I fought back telling him that I was tired and in pain. And to give you another reason we’re friends is he was the one who found me. Anyways it was both our faults.”

“What did the doctor tell him?”

“The truth. That I have two weeks left.”

“What?”

“After my diagnosis they wouldn’t give my mom a straight answer. Billy never found out either. Now with a little more information of the subject, he was the first to know how long I have. I didn’t want to tell him because I knew he’d baby me or treat me like a glass doll.”

“You have two weeks?”

“Yep. I’m ready.”

“So, you’re going to…”

“Yeah.”

“You aren’t scared?”

“No, I’ve been in pain for so long. I’m ready to go. I know Billy isn’t but I am. I’m so tired.”

Max nods and looks up at her. Max’s eyes start to water. She barely knows this girl but from the time they’ve spent together she trusts her.

“Don’t get all teary eyed, because I’ll get it,” Tyler says. “Now let’s get home before your brother wakes up and panics.”

 Max nods and the engine starts.


	7. Chapter 7

When they walk in and the door shuts behind them, the two see a very sober and worried Billy in pants. Billy looks up and runs over to Tyler. He hugs her tightly.

“Where the hell did you go?”

“To get Max. I left you a note.”

Billy looks at her and sighs, “Wake me up next time.”

“Will do.”

“Do you know how my underwear got on. I don’t remember putti…”

“Child in the room,” Max says walking away.

“Little Shit,” Billy whispers.

Tyler laughs and hits him. He looks at her and smiles. He takes her hand and they walk to his room. Billy takes off his pants and goes back to his bed.

“You can grab one of the shirts from the drawers.” Tyler nods and goes to his draws and pulls out a white t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. She slips off her pants and shirt and then slip on the shirt. Before the shirt was pulled down, Billy sees the girls body. He sees the red rash and her ribs. She turns around and Billy looks her in the eyes. She looks at him and then gets in the bed with him.

He grabs the covers and pulls them over them. His arms snake around her. He holds her so she can’t move.

“I love you Tyler Anne,” he says.

“I love you too William James.” 

 

The next morning Billy wakes up to find the bed empty. His heart starts to beat faster and he turns cold. Then he hears it. Laughing. He gets out of the bed and puts on his pants that are still on the floor and walks out. He follows the laughing to Max’s room. He notices the door is cracked. Looking through the crack he sees the two girls. Tyler’s sitting on Max’s bed while Max sits in front of her. The smell of nail polish hits Billy.

“You sure this is my color?”

“Blue will make your skin pop. Trust me.”

Billy smiles and he watches for a moment. He’s never gotten along with Maxine, but that was because he didn’t know how to talk to her. He was an only child and he sure as hell didn’t have any idea about having a little sister.

The phone rings and he jumps. Billy walks to the phone and picks it up.

“Hello?”

“I-Is Max there?”

Sinclair. Of course.

“One moment.”

Billy puts the phone to his chest, “Max!”

Max runs out of the room and looks at him. “What?”

“Phone.” Billy says handing her the phone.

She takes it and he looks at Tyler. She’s standing next to the doorframe.

“You hungry?” Billy asks looking at her.

Tyler shakes her head. One of the side affects you can say.

“Come on Ty,” he sighs, “if I can’t complain about you physically being in pain at least let me feed you.”

Tyler sighs, “I-I’m not hungry.”

She looks at the floor. Her head hurts. It’s been hurting since she woke up. She can hear Billy talking but she doesn't comprehend what he's saying. Her ears are ringing.

“Babe,” Billy says. “Babe.”

The room starts to darken.

“Babe.”

Tyler's legs buckle and she starts to fall. Billy grabs her before she can hit her head.

“Max!” Billy yells.

Max turns her head and looks at the half conscious girl on the floor.

"Lucas, I have to go," Max says and hangs up the phone. 

“B-B-B,” Tyler says.

“Hey, sh, sh,” Billy says.

“B-B-B.”

“Come on,” Billy says picking her up. “Max, I need you to call Joan!”

“I don’t know her number!”

“It’s by my mirror! Come on!”

Billy carries her to his room and lays her on his bed. He gets down next to her. Max cautiously enters. She’s never been allowed in Billy’s room willingly or allowed first handed.

“Baby, look at me.” Billy says looking at her.

“B-B-B.”

“Max hurry!”

Max’s searching around the mirror and finds a paper with a phone number.

“Got it!” Max runs out of the room and runs to the phone.

Billy looks at Tyler. 

“B-B-B.”

“Sh, sh, it’s okay baby. It’s okay.”

Tyler starts to cry. She hasn't cried in a long time in front of Billy in a while. Billy reaches over and touches her face.

“What’s wron…”

Billy stops when the hiss of urine hits his ears. His heart stops for a second. Tyler Anne Smith, one of the strongest girls he's ever met, pissed herself. His eyes start to water. He can't lose it right now. He needs to be the strong one right now.

“B-B-B.”

“Ty,” he says, “it’s okay. It’s all okay.”

Max comes in. She couldn’t get a hold of Joan. “Billy, I can’t get a hold of _Joan_.”

Billy looks at Max. He’s on the verge of losing it.

“Go run a bath. Make sure the water is warm.”

Max goes to the bathroom and starts the bath. When it’s full Max turns the water off. Billy walks in with a naked Tyler. Max steps aside and watches Billy get in fully clothed and holding Tyler. Max takes this as Billy needs to be alone with her and she shuts the door.

As soon as that door closes Billy lets it go. He starts to cry holding her.

“B-B-B.”

“Sh, sh.”

 

It’s been an hour. Max’s in the hallway listening to Billy cry. She’s heard him before. He thinks he cries silently at night, but you can catch the sniffling if you listen close enough. Max’s wants to knock on the door but then she hears, “Max.”

Max stands up and opens the door. Tyler’s still muttering “B-B-B” and Billy is staring at the faucet. “Max, can you go and grab me two shirts, two pairs of underwear, and two pairs of pants. Please.” Max nods and walks out of the bathroom she goes to his room and picks up two of everything Billy asks for. His room smells like piss. Max knows pretty soon he'll need her to crawl under the cabinets for cleaning supplies.

Max walks back to the bathroom and puts the clothes on the sink counter. Before she leaves, she hears Billy say a little 'thank you'.

 

Billy tells Max he’ll be at Tyler's for a bit. His dad and her mom came home four days ago and Billy can’t stand being around his dad for a long period of time. He loads up his Camaro and goes to Tyler’s. He walks into the house and sees Tyler laying on the couch. She’s looking at the TV.

“Babe,” Billy says looking at her.

“B-B-B,” Tyler says looking up at him.

“Yeah, baby, B-B-B. How’re you today?”

“G.”

“That’s good. Where’s your mom?”

“’rk.”

“Okay, do you have to use the bathroom?”

“Ye.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Billy helps Tyler up and holds her up as she walks. She’s gotten a little clumsy lately. He watched her stumble and trip over her own feet the other day. He helps her to the bathroom and then back when she’s done.

“Babe, I have to go to school tomorrow. I’ll be back that afternoon though. Okay?”

“’Kay.”

The girl looks at him. Billy knows how much she’s suffering. He sees it in her eyes. There used to be that gleeful and happiness in her eye, but now it's tired and embarrassed.He understands though. She's used to taking care of herself and Billy, but now it's everyone taking care of herself.

There’s a knock on the door. Billy gets up and walks cautiously to the door. Who could it be?

He looks through the curtain and sees none other than the chief. He can’t not open it. The guy saw him. Billy curses under his breath and opens the door.

“Chief Hopper,” Billy says greeting him, “what can I do for you?”

Hopper looks at him confused. “I’m here to check up on Tyler Smith? Apparently, she’s missed a lot of days. And I have to come by, blah-blah-blah. What are you doing here?”

“I’m visiting her.”

“Can you get her?”

“Uh,” Billy starts. Then there’s a thud and a cry follows the noise. "Will you excuse me a second." Billy runs back to the living room, not noticing that the chief follows him. He finds her on the floor a few steps away from the couch. He bends over and looks at her. Her eyes bulge and she turns away from him and throws up. She starts shaking.

“What’s going on here!” Hopper yells looking at the girl. He sees the concoction she put on the floor. Green and red. “We need to get her to the hospital!”

“N-N!” Tyler says and throws up again. This time all over herself. “B-B-B.”

Billy looks at Hopper. “The kitchen is over there, I’ll be there in a second let me clean her up.” Billy picks the girl up and carries her to the stairs. Hopper walks to the kitchen and stands there. A lot of thoughts going through his mind at the moment. The girl just moved here. Is she on drugs? Is Billy helping her or…what?

 

Ten minutes later Billy comes back to the kitchen and looks at Hopper.

“You want coffee,” Billy asks walking over to the coffee pot.

“Where’s her parents?”

“Well her dad is in prison somewhere in Vancouver and her mom is either in Indianapolis or Pawnee. I’m not sure where she’s working today.”

“What’re you doing here?”

“Taking care of her, what does it look like?”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“She’s sick. What do you think I’m doing here?”

“Well, hearing how you treat others, you can put two and two together.”

“Like I’m having sex with her? No. Never.”

“Why not? She’s just another female.”

“No, she’s not.”

“So, what is it then? She coming off drugs or something?”

“No, she’s sick. She’s been sick for a long time.”

“With what?”

“Why the hell do you want to know? Can you not just take the information I’m giving you and leave it?”

Hopper stops and looks at the boy. Hopper remembers being this angry. He also saw the way the girl could barely word anything and the red in her vomit. She’s small and pale. He remembers how his daughter looked when she was close.

“Can I ask you one more question,” Hopper says.

“What,” Billy groans.

“How long does she have?”

Billy looks up at him. He doesn't want to say it, but it comes out. “Eight more days.”


	8. Chapter 8

Billy’s already turned down five girls and the day hasn’t even started. Billy goes to his car for lunch and sits down on the hood. A few girls flock around but go away as soon as they see that Billy’s ignoring them. 

“Hargrove,” Billy hears. He turns around to see Nancy and Byers.

“What Sweetheart,” Billy says looking at Nancy.

“Where’s Tyler? She hasn’t been here all week.”

“Why do you want to know? You got a crush on her?”

“No...I d-don’t go that way.”

“Okay, well then why do you want to know?”

“Because you…”

“I what? Did something to her? You need to stop right there right now Wheeler,” Billy says standing up. “You stop right now and maybe I won’t beat in your boyfriend’s face.” Billy never hit girls. He didn’t believe in hitting girls. He may have scared them by threatening, but he never did hit them.

Nancy looks at him with her big eyes. She’s pale. Jonathan looks at him expecting it. Billy knows that look. He does the same thing. He backs down. “Go,” Billy says sitting back down. Nancy looks at him. “Go!” The two leave. Billy sighs and decides to go back inside already. Might as well, he doesn't have much left anyway.

 

Billy walks out to his Camaro after the final bell. When he got to his car he saw Harrington talking with Max and the other four kids. Billy’s never exactly given a shit about learning their names. He knew them, but he never pinned them to faces. 

“Max,” Billy says looking at her. “I’m not going home.”

“I want to come with you,” she says. “I want to see her.”

All of the others watch them. Steve watches Billy stiffen. The kids notice also. They all look at the two scared. They know what Billy’s capable of doing to a person. 

“It’s not a good time,” Billy says.

“Please.”

 Billy rubs a hand over his face. He’s tired. Billy didn’t sleep last night. He kept thinking about what the chief said.  _ It's hard at first _ . Billy couldn’t get those words out of his head.  _ You’ll find someway to cope. “ _ I’m not arguing s o, come on.” Billy opens his door and gets in. 

The boys look in shock at Max. They don’t know where she’s actually going, but it’s shocking to know that Billy’s actually being nice. Max looks at them one last time before she gets in the Camaro. 

 

Tyler’s on the couch looking at the tv. A game show her mom likes is on. She watches the people intently. She watches the way they move. Women in heels. The way they talk. So normal. 

“Babe,” Billy says walking in. She looks at him and then at the small girl. She sees the small girl smile. Tyler smiles. Max reminds Tyler of herself. She used to be just like her at one point. “Max wanted to see you.”

“M.” Tyler says. She lets her hand drop and tries to motion for her to come closer. Max notices and does what she’s told. Max gets on her knees and grabs her hand. Tyler attempts to squeeze her hand. Max notices. 

“I’m gonna go take a shower,” Billy says. “Max, call your mom and tell her that your with me.”

Max nods and goes over to the phone making sure she went quickly and then back to Tyler. 

 “M.”

“Yeah?”

Tyler moves her hand to Max’s face. She caresses it and smiles. “Pre...tty.” 

 

Billy picks up Tyler and carries her outside. He puts her in the car and Max gets in the front. The ride home is quiet besides Tyler’s coughing once in awhile. Billy looks at the house. 

“Tell Susan that you haven’t eaten and all that. I’ll see you eventually.”

Max nods and gets out. Billy waits for her to go inside before he drives off. He drives them to the store. He needs to get more bread. He gets out of the car and grabs Tyler. He puts her on her feet and grabs her by the arm to support her. 

As they walk through the parking lot he sees someone he wishes he wouldn’t see for a long time. Mrs. Wheeler and Nancy. He tries to walk off but Mrs. Wheeler caught him. 

“Billy,” Mrs. Wheeler says from across the parking lot. “How’re you?”

Billy looks up and puts on his million dollar smile. His teeth white and straight. Tyler remembers when he had braces. He didn’t have braces for a long time, but it paid off. 

“I’m good Mrs. Wheeler.” He watches Nancy look at Tyler. Her face pales. “Just gotta pick up a few things.” Mrs. Wheeler looks at Tyler and sees how tiny and pale the girl is.

“Is she okay?” Mrs. Wheeler asks.

“Oh, yeah,” Billy says. “She’s just sick. She has the flu.”

“Oh, poor dear.”

“Yeah, uh, I’m just gonna get her in and out. I’m sorry to cut this short.”

“No, its fine. Take care.”

“You too.”

Billy walks Tyler to the store. He looks at her when he hears a small giggle. She’s smiling.

“What’s with you,” he asks.

“B’lly, ‘rks ‘t ‘ith o’ ‘ady.”

“Shut up,” Billy says. The girl laughs and looks at the ground. Billy lets out a small chuckle and continues walking. 

 

Billy wakes up the next day with Tyler curled up under him. Her small body lays under him and he wonders how he didn’t crush her during the night. Tyler looks up at him. Her polka dot lips turn in to a smile. 

“Hey Babe,” he says putting his hand in her hair. “Why’re you smiling?”

The girl laughs. "Mon'ca, Mon'ca," she moans as she moves her body and Billy looks at her. 

His face starts to burns. He looks down and sees it. “Shut up.” He moves away from her and gets out of the bed. He looks at her red face from her laughing. This isn’t the first time he’s had a dream when he’s around her, but at least he never had one with her in it when he spent the night. 

The girl sits up. She’s looking at him. She’s always found him attractive. Not in a ‘I like you’ way, but she could never deny that he was attractive. Billy hit puberty early and it was funny to her how he woke up stiff. Tyler looks at his hair. She wished he didn’t decide to grow his hair out half the time, but when he teases and takes care of it, it looks amazing. 

They lock eyes, but it’s soon interrupted when the doorbell rings. Billy looks at her. “I’ll be right back. Stay here.” Tyler nods watching him leave. Billy goes down the stairs and opens the door. He’s met by Nancy, Harrington, and Byers. Nancy pales at the site of Billy. Billy’s shirtless and in only his underwear. It takes Billy a moment to realize that, but he turns into a confident stand. 

“How can I help you three?” Billy asks coolly. He takes in the other two’s reactions. Steve’s seen him naked and Jonathan looks uncomfortable.

“We need to talk,” Steve says looking at him. 

Billy stares at him, "Why?" The question is simple and he let's a smile fall on his face, "You finally want to confess to me how much you like it up in you-" 

"Billy what are you doing with Tyler?" Nancy says gaining confidence. "I saw her last night, she looks horrible. What are you-"

A loud thud cuts her off. Billy's heart stops for a second. Then he hears the harsh noise of vomiting. He runs for the stairs. He doesn't even say anything or shut the door. He doesn’t hear the three people following him up the stairs. He runs straight to her room. He looks at her body on the floor. He sees a little bit of the bile next to her. Her eyes are closed though and she's not moving. Billy drops to the floor and crawls over to her. He grabs her and starts shaking her. 

"What's going on?" Harrington says.

Billy ignores him and starts listening for her breathing. He hears the whistling and rustling of it and moves to find her pulse. When he finds it, its faint. 

"Hargrove!" 

Billy turns around and looks at him. 

“Get me some water!”

“Is-”

“Get me some water!”

He turns around and starts shaking the girl again. Someone gives him a glass of water. Billy takes the water and slowly pours it on her face. The three in the room listen to Billy's speaking. 

"Seven more days. Seven more days." Billy repeats it over and over again. "She has seven more days!" They hear the voice crack when he says that. 

"Should we call the..." Nancy starts.

"No!" Billy says. He looks at them. "No cops, no ambulance, no hospitals. She's okay. She's okay." Billy starts to shake for a second. He moves away and then moves back. 

"Billy," Steve says.

Tyler opens her eyes. "B-B-B." 

Billy turns to her, "Yes Babe. It's B-B-B."

"B-B-" she turns slightly and starts to empty the contents that are in her stomach. Billy reaches for her and flips her onto her hands and knees. The smell is horrible. He's used to it, but to the three in the room it causes them to gag. They all look at the two. The vomit is a redish black now. 

It takes a few minutes before she finishes. Billy looks at the three, "I'm going to give her a bath and I'm expecting the three of you to be in the living room." Billy lifts the girl with his back and moves her out of the room. The three follow out of the room and head back downstairs.

 

Billy takes half an hour before he comes downstairs. He has put on a pair of shorts. He walks to the living room. He looks at the three people. 

"What's wrong with her?" Nancy says.

"Slow down Princess," Billy says, "does anyone want wine before I start?" There's a silence. "Well, I want some wine. Give me a minute." Billy goes to the kitchen and grabs the wine. 

"I never pegged you as a wine guy," Steve says when Billy walks back in.

"It's the only thing that they have here. Her mom is too classy to like beer."

"What's wrong with her," Nancy says.

"Damn Princess, you really like to get to the point. I'd hate to get in bed with you." Billy says popping open the bottle and taking a swig of the contents. 

“Just answer the question Hargrove,” Steve says. 

“She's sick.”

“Sick? You call that sick? She looked like she was dying.” Nancy speaks up. She watches Billy flinch at the word dying. He purses his lips and takes another swig from the bottle. 

“She's very sick,” Billy says. “Is that better?”

“What's wrong with her?”

Billy looks at them, “Well Princess it's not my place to tell you.”

“Who's is it then?”

“Tyler’s, but I got her to sleep, so don't wake her. By the way how'd you know that she lives here?”

“The chief told us. All Nancy had to say was she was a friend and boom in. Now if you won't tell us what's wrong with her, tell me how you know her. There's no way you just met her and treat her like this.”

“She's an old friend.”

“Really now?”

“Harrington I have a heart ya know. It may not seem like I give a shit half the time but I have one.”

“I thought you didn't care that much for others.”

“I don't but I care for Tyler.”

“Why exactly?”

“I already told you. She's a friend.”

“But you never cared for a girl before.”

“Harrington what's your point?” Billy starts to get agitated now.

“My point is, do you really care or are you trying to bang her”

“Why would I torture myself after doing it with her?” Billy says not thinking.

“What do you mean by torture?” Nancy says. 

“I'm not being interrogated anymore. The door is over there.”

“Har-”

“I'm going upstairs and if I come down in five minutes and you're still here, I'll beat in Byers’ little face.” Billy doesn't look at them and walks up stairs. The three listen to the door close upstairs. They all get up to leave. Sad thing is when they left they weren't going to see what happened upstairs. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
